Do What You Can – Until You Can Do What You Want

Do what you can, until you can do what you want. Taking lessons from exercise and applying them to daily life. Learn how to do what you can until you can do what you want.

Start Where You Are

“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” – Arthur Ashe

I was out for my daily walk/run when I heard these words, ‘do what you can until you can do what you want.’

Most of us have goals that we are working to accomplish. Maybe we want to start a garden, organize our homes, start a new hobby, write a book, learn a new skill, or start exercising. None of these goals happen overnight. 

Goodness knows that my exercise goals, specifically my running goals, have been coming along slowly. But even though it’s not happening as quickly as I would like, I remember to be proud of the accomplishments I have made. I can run for longer than I could a year ago. I can run faster than I could a year ago. And by taking things slowly I’ve managed to avoid any major injuries in the process.

There is no one size fits all approach to accomplishing your goals. We all have different backgrounds, different responsibilities, different energy levels, and we are all at different stages in life.

I attended a gardening class recently where the speaker encouraged attendees to begin with a small garden, something that would give you the knowledge and confidence to grow a larger garden next year.  

The key to accomplishing our goals is to just start where you are. Use whatever tools and resources you have, and do whatever you can do at this stage in your life. (And don’t forget to rest when you need it.)

Do What You Can

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” – Theodore Roosevelt

Most people don’t decide that they want to run a marathon and then enter a race the next weekend. They have to start with where they are and work to get where they want to be. Doing what they can until they can do what they want.  

Starting where you are, or doing what you can, isn’t settling. It’s being realistic about where you are and practical with your goal setting so that you can get to where you want to be.

As hard as it might be, don’t compare your journey to those around you. Focus on doing the best you can, with the tools, skills, resources, and abilities available to you.

If you stick with doing what you can with the resources you have, you can eventually achieve what you are trying to accomplish.